Project

Flair Airlines, Canada's third-largest airline and ultra-low-cost carrier, was facing significant financial challenges in light of the COVID-19 travel and health restrictions put in place by the Canadian federal government in March 2020. While the organization was nimble and able to shift into delivery services and charter to meet the increased demand for the movement of goods and expropriated Canadians, restarting operations and recovery from the significant reductions in passenger travel would require financial support from federal government programs.

 

The Federal Government was proving slow to support Canada's airline industry, but Flair required a presence in Ottawa in order to be factored into government plans for support. As the client lead and primary advisor to the CEO, NATIONAL was tasked with working alongside Flair Airlines' government relations team to establish a public relations program to elevate the profile of Flair (via its credible and straight-talking CEO, Jim Scott) and gain Canadian's advocacy for inclusion in government funding programs in order to protect pricing for all Canadians as the country moved back to air travel.

​

Result

Coverage of Flair's strategic approach and key messages on their important role in support of options in Canadian air travel was picked up by national outlets and maintained momentum for a two-month period. A regular on the Amanda Lang show on BNN Bloomberg and continuous coverage from key journalists at Finacial Post and Canadian Press supported Flair's government engagement and advanced discussions of support.

 

Unfortunately, the Canadian government did not develop a comprehensive program to support small and medium-sized carriers, increasing the duopoly of large carriers in Canadian air travel and resulting in the closure of many small carriers. In part because of the increased public awareness, Flair was able to attract further investments and has maintained operations continuing to offer Canadians a cost-effective choice for regional and national travel.